28 September 2013

Pakistan set to play in Philippines Peace Cup – Exclusive

The Pak Shaheens will be taking part in the 2nd annual Peace Cup that is set to take place in the Philippines from 11th to the 15th of October.

In an superb move that will take Pakistan’s tally of International games to 14 this year, the Green Shirts will get a chance to pit their strengths against the hosts, Chinese Taipei and a 3rd team that is yet to be confirmed.

With the game set to be on FIFA Match Days, established stars such as Zesh Rehman, Hassan Bashir, Adnan Ahmad, Yousuf Butt and Mohammad Ali will be leading the line-up alongside Mohammad Adil, Kaleemullah, Saddam Hussain, Mohammad Ahmad, Faisal Iqbal and Riaz Ahmad.

However, there are rumours that Nabil Aslam could finally make his debut for Pakistan after missing out on the SAFF Championship due to a lack of documents and injuries. Amjad Iqbal and Shabir Khan may also play provided they can sort out their work issues on time and be free of the treatment table curse.

And Pakistani fans might also get a glimpse of Luke Dean (Harrogate Town) and Bilal Butt (Beaconsfield), who have not been capped yet but are on the radars of the coaches for the Peace Cup.

One person who will miss out on the games is Atif Bashir, the Bulldozer of a midfielder, who is a fan-favourite, but sadly is still recovering from his injury.

Nonetheless, the Peace Cup will provide three games for the Pakistani side, an unprecedented move that will take their tally of International action to 14 for this year. And that this something which PFF Marketing Director Sardar Naveed Haider claims will benefit the side immensely and provide more exposure.

“It will help definitely boost their confidence. We have got a new coach and we will provide maximum exposure to our boys. It is a great opportunity for our boys to compete in an International Tournament,” said the official while exclusively talking to FootballPakistan.com.

“Football is now the happening game in Pakistan more and more Corporates plus Media are coming forward to support PFF,” he concluded.

With the majority of the team expected to be the same and KRL enjoying an amazing run in the AFC Presidents Cup, the need for a camp goes away and the team should train for a few days only before departing for Manila.